Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: May 23, 2026
Seven weeks have passed, and the whereabouts of Benito Guevara Arcos are still unknown.
The 79-year-old missionary was last seen on 31 March in the town of San Vicente in Guerrero State, Mexico, where he had travelled to preach and give out Bibles.
When night fell and Benito hadn’t returned, the friend he was staying with set out to find him. What he heard from neighbours was deeply troubling: armed men had forced him into a car and taken him away.
The friend later confirmed that Benito was being held by an organised criminal group, who claimed to be investigating his identity.
For a brief moment, it seemed as though he might be found. The criminal group sent word that his family should pick him up from the town of Amojileca – a 30km drive from San Vicente – where they said they had released him on 4 April.
But when two men set out to search for him, driving along the only road to Amojileca, they found nothing.
His family told us that he didn’t have his phone with him, but was carrying enough money to have covered the cost of returning home.
We are deeply concerned for Benito’s wellbeing. It would be easy to lose hope as another week passes without news. Yet this is exactly when we must press into prayer – calling on the One who makes a way in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:19).
Please pray:
- That Benito would be found alive and well, and return home as soon as possible.
- That God would draw near to him and his family, sustaining them with all they need.
- For a thorough investigation into Benito’s forced disappearance and the people responsible.
- That anyone with information would have the courage to come forward, and be able to do so safely.
So far, no one has come forward with information – despite Benito being well known in the area, and the case being covered extensively in local media.
His family filed a missing persons report with the National Search Commission for Missing Persons in Guerrero State, and were given police protection as they posted flyers across the area. However, they haven’t filed a report with the state prosecutor’s office, for fear of reprisals from criminal groups.
New research* reveals that state actors are often involved in disappearances – which have increased by over 200% in the last ten years. If not directly, they may be indirectly involved by allowing organised criminal groups to operate with impunity.
This is the context in which Benito disappeared.
- Please pray that the Mexican government – at every level – would recognise the specific threat that criminal groups pose to religious leaders and human rights defenders.
- May they respond by prioritising the most vulnerable, and not those who wield influence through fear and violence.
* Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)